On January 1, 2022, the No Surprises Act implemented requirements that health care providers prepare “Good Faith Estimate” for self-pay patients.
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| 12.09.2022 |
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| 06.25.2022 |
In response to the U.S. Supreme Court decision overturning Roe v. Wade, which was followed by Governor Mike Parson signing a proclamation triggering the effectiveness of Section 188.017 RSMo, which ends elective abortions in the State of Missouri, Spencer Fane’s health care team is sharing a memo outlining the broad scope and ambiguities in Missouri’s law and the potential issues it presents to Missouri health care providers. |
| 01.13.2022 |
Big PictureToday the United States Supreme Court issued a decision staying implementation and enforcement of the Emergency Temporary Standard (“ETS”) issued by the federal Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) requiring employers with 100 or more employees to adopt policies mandating COVID-19 vaccination and testing, at least while legal challenges to the ETS proceed through lower courts. This means that for now, employers covered by the federal ETS are not required to comply with it. |
| 12.23.2021 |
Late on Wednesday, December 22, the United States Supreme Court announced that it will hear oral arguments on January 7, 2022, on several consolidated cases challenging the Emergency Temporary Standard (“ETS”) issued by the Occupational Health and Safety Administration (OSHA) requiring that employers with 100 or more employees adopt vaccine mandate and testing policies, as well as the vaccine mandate imposed on certain health care facilities under the Interim Rule issued by the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS). |
| 11.29.2021 |
A Missouri-based federal judge issued an order today partially blocking the Biden Administration from implementing the emergency regulation issued by the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) on November 4, 2021, that mandated COVID-19 vaccination by January 4, 2022, for the employees and contractors of covered health care facilities participating in the Medicare and Medicaid programs. The order, known as a preliminary injunction, is temporary in nature, although it could eventually become permanent if the lawsuit is successful. |
| 11.29.2021 |
The Federal No Surprises Act (“the Act”) will go into effect for healthcare providers and health plans beginning January 1, 2022. With an eye toward protecting patients from unexpected out-of-network medical costs, this law will require payers and providers to interact and negotiate in new ways. Health care providers and health care facilities should begin preparations now for implementing the requirements of the Act. |
| 11.05.2021 |
In addition to protecting insured patients from out-of-network costs, the No Surprises Act implements protections for uninsured or self-pay patients. Effective January 1, 2022, healthcare providers and facilities will be required to provide a good faith estimate of charges to a patient for any service that is scheduled at least three days in advance. Where the service will involve multiple healthcare providers, the scheduling provider is required to coordinate with the other providers to gather information necessary to timely provide this estimate, although enforcement of this coordination is delayed until December 31, 2022. The estimate may include disclaimers and explanations of potential unknown factors that may impact the cost. |
| 09.09.2021 |
On September 9, 2021, the Biden Administration announced a new plan to use federal regulatory powers to reduce the number of unvaccinated Americans. The thrust of the administrative initiative involves “substantially increas[ing] the number of Americans covered by vaccination requirements,” primarily through mandates that “will become dominant in the workplace.” The Administration estimates that these new mandates will affect over 80 million Americans eligible to be vaccinated but who have not yet gotten their first COVID-19 shot. |
| 08.20.2021 |
The dog days of summer are behind us, and National Back-to-School Month is well underway. Parents across the country are checking off tasks on their lists in order to get their college students ready to go back to school. If it’s not already on the list, parents need to make sure that their college student has appropriate health care documents in place for anything that comes their way. |
| 07.26.2021 |
On July 22, 2021, the Missouri Supreme Court issued its opinion in the matter of Ordinalo Velazquez v. University Physician Associates, et al. In a victory for health care providers, the Missouri Supreme Court rejected a constitutional challenge to non-economic damages caps in actions based on the provision of medical services. |